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The Alienist Wiki:Manual of Style
has a Manual of Style that all articles are highly suggested to follow. This article and related articles represent The Alienist Wiki's official policies and act as a guide to ensure that all articles comply with certain encyclopedic standards. Some aspects of the policies are optional, but most are required unless otherwise noted. Editing How do I create a page? If you see a red link on an existing page and you want to create the page it points to, simply click that link and it will point you to the editing form. Type the content, then save the page. Alternatively, you can type the title of the page in the search box and press "Go". If the page already exists, it will take you there, but if it doesn't, you can click the red link with the page title, and it will take you to the editing form. How do I improve a page? * Feel free to add pages following the appropriate guidelines, especially where there are red links for missing pages. * Feel free to supplement stub articles. They will not grow if they aren't nurtured. * You may know (American) English well. Not everyone else watching the show does. Respect that you may even be an English-speaking who does not read or write (American) English as well as others. If you notice grammatical errors, correct them. Grammarist and Comparison of American and British English can be used as guides. * Use the special templates where appropriate. Read the documentation for those templates: it explains a lot. If there's no documentation and using it is not obvious, ask a wise contributor about it. * Be aware of the way some pages are structured. Some page types have special guidelines that we like to keep consistent. If they're in a Category, the Category may have a link to the preferred format. * If you see an empty heading, your instinct should be "fill it", not "delete it". Removing an empty picture frame leaves a barren wall. * Talk amongst yourselves! The comment section is a great place to suggest changes, especially if you're not sure about changing something yourself. * Don't move pages without a good reason (and probably discussion). If you are clear to move a page, please be sure to leave behind a redirect so that we don't get broken links. * Clean up articles doesn't mean blanking everything that's there, just removing what is repeated or mistyped. Don't bulk delete someone else's work. Admins notice this sort of thing, and you may find your changes reversed. * If you're citing an outside source, like Wikipedia or IMDb, don't just copy and paste. Attribution is good policy. Use < ref > References < / ref> and article footer which contains < references /> into automatic footnotes. * Whenever you save an edit, it is preferable to leave an edit summary of your recent work. * It is advisable to avoid micro-editing. If something can be done in one or two productive edit(s), then it should be. There's no need to stretch it out or make several minor edits like editing a few words, then saving the edit, only to go back in and edit a few more words. This keeps the edit history and Wiki Activity clean and less confusing. Furthermore, it prevents edit conflicts. * All articles should be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), meaning that views, facts, and other relevant types of information about the subject are represented fairly and without bias. At the same time, describing what is clearly depicted in the show is acceptable (eg. Captain Connor was both racist and misogynist). * Users should also try to avoid using weasel words, generally used under the impression that it avoids a non-neutral point of view. According to Wikipedia, they are "words and phrases that, whilst communicating a vague or ambiguous claim, create an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said." For example, saying "some people say ..." is a vague generalization that does not indicate who actually stated something. How do I delete a page? Only Administrators can delete pages, and only they can restore deleted pages. If you created a page accidentally and would rather get rid of it, do not blank it; blanking is considered vandalism and, if repeated, can get you blocked. If you think that a page should be deleted, leave a comment on the admins' Message Walls with the reasons. However, if you accidentally uploaded the wrong image, there is usually no need to delete it: simply upload another one under the same name, and it will replace the original image. Layout Guide This Layout Guide is an official guide as to how an in-universe article should be structured. Generally, this guide is to be used for character articles but can be adapted to almost any in-universe article by leaving out sections that are impertinent. Introduction An introductory preamble of the character, including actor impersonating them for Character pages; the title and number of the episode, including air dates for Episode pages. Infobox An infobox is a template that displays as a labeled box along the righthand margin of the article, and contains short labeled data. Fill in the infobox with preset parameters identifying each infobox, such as , , . Article Body Character Pages * Official description: Biographies officially provided by TNT, properly referenced to the source website. It is preferable that the text is written in quotation marks, and in italics. * Character Overview: A concise description of the character's personality, highlighting their behaviours and attitudes, as well as their beliefs. A brief description of their appearance and clothing, especially if they are significant or recurring in the course of the series. * Biography: A summary of character's actions throughout each episode in which they appear. Each summary will be concluded with a CrossRef link (see below). It's preferable to write articles as if what was depicted on the show were actual events rather than something that was viewed on TV by viewers (ie. avoid writing something like "As shown in the episode..." or "As we saw in...," etc.). Summaries must be written in a neutral point of view. **Additional background information about character's upbringing and known information about them prior the events of the series under "Early Life" subheader. * Memorable Quotes: Meaningful sentences spoken by characters useful to understand them. * Images: A selection of stills and screenshots depicting the character. Manip or otherwise edited images are not allowed. The gallery is divided according to the following subsections: ** Promotional Stills: Promotional HD images released by TNT. ** Screencaps: Good quality images depicting characters in meaningful scenes. Remember this is not a screencap repository! Choose them wisely to fill certain gaps in the promo Stills, ie. no promotional image for that particular guest character or location. ** Promotional Icons: Released by TNT along with characters' official biography. ** Promotional Posters: Special promotional images, often featuring quotes. ** Behind the scenes: photos taken behind the scenes by the actors themselves, or by the crew. *'Episode Appearances': A list of the episodes in which said character appears. * Trivia: Where necessary, a bullet list of trivia about the character, location, etc. * Notes: When necessary, a bullet list of relevant info about the characters in other media (ie. the novel) or information that cast and crew released about that particular character. *'References': Links to external sources mentioned in the article will appear here (See below how to properly insert references). Episode Page Unlike character pages, episode pages include the following parameters instead of Background, Appearance and Personality and History: * Synopsys: An official summary of the episode, complete with references. * Cast: A list of main and recurring actors on the specific episode. Referencing References Whenever citing a text from external sources (synopsis, interviews, etc) type the following code: Source link Title of the Article . In order for it to work, make sure that at the end of the page there is under appropriate header. Cross-Referencing CrossRef, short for cross-referencing, is a template used on to indicate the episode in which the facts just described in a given paragraph occurred. The template is added at the end of the paragraph without linking the episode page as that occur automatically. Type this: (ie. to see this: Es. Category Guide :Main:The Alienist Wiki:Category Guide A category is a group of pages with a similar theme, such as characters, books, or places. You can add a category link to any page, and it will automatically be listed on a category page with other similarly linked pages. Categories help organize the community and make it easier for readers to find related content. Ideally, every wiki page should be in at least one category. A category page itself can be in another category. So, for example, a wiki might have a category called "Characters" with sub-categories for "Minor characters", "Dead characters", and "Main characters". At the bottom of each page, there is a set of 'Related Pages' images to help guide visitors from one page to another; these are chosen based on category tags on each page. The more specific the category tags are, the better these suggestions will be. Forbidden Content # Vandalism (deleting sections of a page or replacing them with gibberish or misinformation). # Profanity, insults, harassment, racial slurs (unless used in-universe by certain characters. In that case, give said words a context). Malicious action against other users is met with a Zero Tolerance policy. # Links to download the episodes from torrent sites or other streaming sources illegal (or of questionable legality) in the United States and the United Kingdom. # Irrelevant content and pages not related to The Alienist. # Spamming off-topic material (rants against a third party, political statements, advertisements). # Trolling or general irritation or disruption of other users. This often includes, but is not limited to excessive use of capital letters, punctuation marks, deliberate distortions of the English language and excessive usage of languages other than English. Canonicity It is recommended to insert only content whose nature is verifiable and inherent to The Alienist. Tiers of Canon # The Show Itself: Everything shown or said on screen about characters, situations, events, etc. is considered canonical, paying attention to characters' bias. # Behind the Scenes: Additional and insightful explanations provided by cast and crew in interviews and special featurette videos, ie. Inside the Episode. # Reliable Sources: All content released by official websites such as Turner Pressroom, or from reliable magazines, websites and social networks such as The Futon Critic, TV Line, etc. This includes episode synopsis and character biographical descriptions. # The Novel: All the additional material provided in the novel, such as first names, places, etc. is considered canonical, as long as it does not contradict the aforementioned tiers. Subjectivity Articles should be written by keeping a neutral point of view, merely reporting facts as they are presented on the show. Personal opinions, theories, and conjectures about characters and episodes are more appropriate in the forum, comment section, or discussions. Notes * Adapted from Taboo Wiki Category:Guidelines and Policy